Contact lens container with solution injection system

ABSTRACT

A portable compact contact lens storage case with an integrated reservoir for storing a supply of contact lens treatment solution with an internal system for applying and injecting the contact lens treatment solution. The portable compact lens storage case is also characterized by its narrow width, small size and portability.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/315,850, filed Dec. 3, 2008, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/285,785, filed Nov.21, 2005, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/382,703, filed Mar. 6, 2003, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties, including but not limited to thoseportions that specifically appear hereinafter, the incorporation byreference being made with the following exception: In the event that anyportion of the above-referenced application is inconsistent with theseapplications, this application supercedes said above-referencedapplications.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. The Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to contact lens storage cases,and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to compact contactlens storage cases having an integrated fluid storage reservoir with asystem for injecting solution from the reservoir into the storage cases.

2. Description of Related Art

Contact lenses were invented more than 100 years ago as an alternativeto eye glasses. Though they were originally made from glass, and laterhard plastic, contact lenses today are customarily made from softplastic. Contact lenses are small, thin disks specially designed to beplaced directly onto the surface or cornea of the eye. While they aremost commonly used to correct vision problems such as nearsightedness,farsightedness and astigmatism, they may also be used to treat certaineye conditions and diseases. For example, contacts often are used byindividuals who have had cataract surgery but did not receive lensimplants. In addition, people without vision problems occasionally wearcontact lenses to enhance or manipulate the colors of their eyes.

There are two primary types of contact lenses: hard and soft. Hardcontact lenses come in two forms: non-gas permeable and gas permeable.Gas-permeable lenses allow oxygen to reach the corneal surface, are moreflexible than the non-gas permeable lenses, and are the most commonlyused form of hard contact lens. Soft contact lenses also come in twoforms: daily wear and extended wear. Both types of lenses are made fromthin, flexible, plastic material. The daily-wear lenses require dailyremoval, cleaning and storage. Extended-wear lenses are designed to beworn overnight; however recent studies indicate that extended-wearlenses should be worn for the shortest practical period, ideally for oneday, because of the increased risk of infection associated with theselenses. This recommendation militates against overnight wear.

While contact lenses provide a great benefit to their users, theyrequire significantly more attentiveness than a pair of simpleeyeglasses. Mineralized deposits can form on the surface of the contactlenses, thereby causing discomfort to the wearer. In addition,micro-organisms can flourish on the lenses as well. Even without themineralized deposits and the micro-organisms, nearly all contact lensesneed to be hydrated periodically in order to maintain their properflexibility and comfort to the user. It should be recognized, thatcontact lenses are also easily damaged and are notoriously difficult tolocate once they have been lost or misplaced.

Appropriate cleansing of contact lenses varies depending on the type oflenses. But, all lenses require regular, thorough cleaning anddisinfecting. It is especially important that daily-wear andextended-wear users follow the recommended regimen of lens cleaning,rinsing, disinfecting, enzymatic cleaning and lens case cleaning. Withall lenses, only commercially prepared sterile solutions arerecommended. Lenses that are cleaned regularly last longer, are morecomfortable and lower the risk of eye infection.

As mentioned above, commercially available contact lens solution hasbeen developed to aid contact lens wearers in cleaning and disinfectingtheir lenses. The contact lens solutions have also been developed to aidin re-hydrating the lenses. The solution is normally marketed in largebottles usually containing a supply of solution for several weeks or upto several months.

Various types of contact lense storage cases have been devised as aconvenient means of cleaning, disinfecting and storing the lenses. Themost simple device consists of a small fluid-tight storage compartmentof sufficient size to receive one or two of the lenses. Typically, thelenses are stored in separate compartments so as not to reverse thelenses as they may be different. One compartment is usually marked withan “L” denoting the left lens and the other an “R” denoting the rightlens.

Once the lenses have been removed from the eyes of the wearer and placedinto their respective storage compartments, a small amount of solution,usually just enough to cover the contact lens lenses, is added to thestorage compartment. The lenses are typically soaked overnight or untilneeded again. The soaking process acts to clean, disinfect andre-hydrate the lenses.

One significant drawback that exists in the prior art is that thecontact lens storage container and contact lens solution bottles are notintegrated into one portable compact unit, thus, the contact lens wearermust carry a separate storage case and solution bottle. One attempt toovercome this drawback is found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,905,819 and5,127,517, both awarded to Clements et al. These patents describe acontact lens storage case attached to the top of a bottle of treatmentsolution. While the Clements et al. patents disclose a contact lensstorage case with an included fluid container, these devices still haveundue limitations. Most importantly, the devices disclosed in theClements et al. patents do not lend themselves easily to the portabilityrequired by today's active lifestyles. In particular, the shape and thesize of the devices are not conducive to easily fit in a pocket or smallpurse. For example, the disclosed devices are bulky and would not beconvenient for biking, hiking, or other outdoor activities. In addition,the devices are excessively heavy due to the size of the treatmentsolution bottle. This characteristic of the inventions disclosed inClements et al. is problematic because without a convenient and portablecontact lens case, wearers of contact lenses tend to forego therequisite cleaning and disinfecting if they are away from home.

Thus, there exists a need for a truly portable contact lens storagecontainer with an integrated solution reservoir containing an extendedsupply of contact lens treatment solution that can be injected directlyinto the storage container.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present embodiment comprises an all-in-one portable contact lensstorage case with an integrated storage reservoir and a solutioninjection system. The present embodiment is characterized by its compactsize and portability. In addition, the solution injection system allowsan effective amount of the contact lens treatment solution to bedirectly injected into the contact lens receptacles. The injectionsystem also allows excess solution to be discharged from the contactlens receptacles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from aconsideration of the subsequent detailed description presented inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an perspective view of one previously available device;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first embodiment illustrated with thelid open;

FIG. 3 is a profile view of the first embodiment with the lid closed;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the first embodiment, illustrated withthe lid closed;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the first embodiment illustrated with the lidopen;

FIG. 5 is an elevated perspective view showing the first embodiment in adisassembled state;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a partial view of a second embodiment having a recess for aneye drop bottle; and

FIG. 8 is a view of a third embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principlesprovided in accordance with the present invention, reference will now bemade to the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawings andspecific language will be used to describe the same. It willnevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of theinvention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modificationsof the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additionalapplications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein,which would normally occur to one skilled in the relevant art and havingpossession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope ofthe invention claimed.

It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referentsunless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example,reference to “a solution” includes a mixture of two or more of suchsolutions and reference to “an airtight seal” includes reference to oneor more of such seal.

As used herein, “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” “characterizedby,” and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive or open-endedterms that do not exclude additional, unrecited structural elements ormethod steps.

The previously available devices are characterized by large and bulkycontact lens holders that are impracticable for away-from-home use dueto their relatively heavy weight, especially if the user isparticipating in an outdoor activity such as skiing, biking or hiking.In particular, the previously available devices lack an all-in-oneportable contact lens case with an integrated container for storingcontact lens solution.

An example of one previously available device is illustrated in FIG. 1.The contact lens holder 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is comprised of acontact lens case 11 connected to the top of a solution bottle 16. Thesolution bottle 16 contains treatment solution for cleaning the contactlenses (not shown) placed in the recessed chambers 12. The contact lenscase 11 is designed to fit on a wide range of commercially availablecontainers. Thus, when empty, the solution bottle 16, may be replacedwith another purchased at a retail site, or it may be refilled. Ingeneral, the solution bottle 16, when full, is heavy and contains asupply of treatment solution which may last several months.

The contact lens case 11 of FIG. 1 has two recessed chambers 12 forstoring contact lenses. A lid 18 closes over the recessed chambers 12. Adistributor head 20 is used to fill the recessed chambers 12 with thetreatment solution. When the lid 18 is closed, the distributor head 20cannot squirt solution into the recessed chambers 12. Further, thedistributor head 20 cannot discharge excess treatment solution from therecessed chambers 12 without the user opening lid 18. As discussed abovein connection with the device shown in FIG. 1, the overall length,width, height and cylindrical shape of the device make it impracticableto place into a pocket or small purse. While the contact lens holder 10is portable in the sense that it can be taken from place to place, it isnot convenient to be constantly carried by a user, especially whenoutdoors or at work.

As will be seen and described below, the illustrative embodiments arecompact and extremely portable, unlike the previously available devices,making it extremely useful to contact wearers.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-7, generally, the illustrative embodiments aredirected to a portable light-weight contact lens container, generallydesignated at 100, which includes its own integrated supply reservoir112, with an internally situated system for injecting the contact lenssolution into the lens receptacles 116. A front perspective view of thefirst embodiment is shown in FIG. 2, with a lid 104 assuming an openposition.

The contact lens container 100 comprises a base member 110 integratedwith the reservoir 112 as shown in FIG. 2. The base member 110 has twolens receptacles 116 recessed in its top surface 118 for holding contactlenses. The base member 110 and the lens receptacles 116, are oneexample of a means for receiving and holding contact lenses. Thereceiving means can refer to any storage case designed to receive andhold contact lenses. It will be appreciated that the means for receivingis merely one example of accomplishing the storage of the contactlenses, other suitable arrangements known or readily ascertainable, tothose skilled in the art, may be used and are within the scope of thepresent invention.

The receiving means can refer to any storage case designed to receiveand hold two contact lenses. The lens receptacles 116 should be ofsufficient depth to receive a contact lens (not shown) and hold aeffective amount of contact lens solution to clean, disinfect andhydrate the lenses. The lens receptacles 116 are preferably cuppedshaped with a circular opening, but may be any shape as long as it is ofsufficient volume to hold a contact lens. Each of the two receptacles116 is provided with one of two solution ports 108 located below therespective rims 119 of the receptacles 116, whose purpose an functionwill be further explained below. The lens receptacles 116 may optionallyhave a textured surface 117 as shown best in FIG. 4, and explained inconnection therewith. The textured surface aids in cleaning the contactlenses when the lenses make contact with the surface.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the reservoir 112 is preferably comprised ofa flexible resilient material, such as plastic or the like, and shouldbe capable of storing a supply of treatment solution. The reservoir 112should be of sufficient internal volume to store a supply of treatmentsolution for up to several days or weeks, depending on the recommendedusage and needs of the user. For example, one illustrative volume forthe reservoir 112 is in the range from about 150 ml to about 400 mlwhile another illustrative volume is 250 ml to about 750 ml. Thereservoir 112 can be replenished with treatment solution from a largercommercially available product, normally sold in a bulk amount and in acylindrical type container. The reservoir 112 should also be ofsufficient durability to withstand the rigors of outdoor activity suchas backpacking, skiing or biking The oblong shape of the reservoir 112,as particularly shown in FIG. 4 also promotes efficient squeezing. Thereservoir 112, is one example of a fluid storage means for storing asupply of treatment solution. Other suitable arrangements known orreadily ascertainable, to those skilled in the art, may be used and arewithin the scope of the present invention.

Pivotally mounted on the rear of the base member 110 with a hinge 120 isa lid 104 having a lid lock 102. The hinge 120 comprises a pinconnecting the lid 102 to the base member 110. Other suitablearrangements known or readily ascertainable, to those skilled in theart, may be used and are within the scope of the present invention,i.e., a composite lid 104 and base member 110 having a flexibleconnection allowing the lid 104 to assume an open position and a closedposition. Further, the lid lock 102 may be substituted for by any numberof equivalent structures known or readily ascertainable, to thoseskilled in the art, such as a clasp or elastic member. In short, anymeans whereby the lid is held shut. The bottom surface of the lid 104optionally having a reflective surface 106, such as a mirror, attachedthereto to assist the lens wearer in inserting and removing the lensesfrom his or her eyes.

The front of the base member 110 further having a second lid latch 114to releasably receive the lid lock 102 when the lid 104 is closed. Whenthe lid 104 is closed, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 3A, a substantially fluidtight seal should be formed between the lid 104 and the top surface 118of the base member 110 thereby preventing any contact lens solution fromleaking undesirably from the lens receptacles 116. A gasket or othersealing material may be used to create the fluid tight seal between thetop surface 118 and the lid 104. A raised ridge or flange may also beused to form the seal. The lid 104 in the closed position also serves tomaintain the lenses in the lens receptacles 116.

The lid 104 is one example of a lid means for forming a fluid tightseal. It will be appreciated that the system for fastening disclosedherein is merely one example of accomplishing a fluid type seal over thelens receptacles, other suitable arrangements known or readilyascertainable, to those skilled in the art, may be used and are withinthe scope of the present invention, i.e., a separate lid for each of thelens receptacles 116. Further, one skilled in the art can design otherlid means to create a fluid type seal, that would be encompassed by thescope of the present invention.

Referring now specifically to FIGS. 3, 3A, and 4, the contact lenscontainer 100 is illustrated showing one overall illustrative shape.FIGS. 3 and 3A show the contact lens container 100 with its lid 104closed in a profile view and front view, respectively. The length 140and height 144 of the present invention are no greater than five inchesas shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A. The width 142, as illustrated in FIG. 3, ofthe illustrated embodiment is typically no greater than three inches.The length, width and height may be smaller than the above indicatedmeasurements thereby making it more convenient to carry.

In one embodiment, the general shape of the contact lens container 100can be compared to that of a whiskey flask, but is by no means limitedto that shape. A whiskey flask is characterized by its thin profile andcurved body. The curvature allows the whiskey flask to conform to a partof the human body, such as a hip. A cross-sectional view of the contactlens container 100 is oblong as can be seen in FIG. 4. A separateembodiment is approximately the size and shape of a pack of cigarettes.

The contact lens container 100 is compact and portable, and its sizeshould allow the user to easily store it in a pocket or a purse out ofview. It will be appreciated that one advantage of the present inventionis its narrow profile. It would be undesirable to have a contact lenscase that is cylindrical in shape, as represented in FIG. 1, since itwould be difficult to store in a small pocket or purse.

The embodiment represented in FIGS. 2, 3, 3A and 4 is shown disassembledin FIG. 5. Disassembly allows the reservoir 112 to be filled withtreatment solution. In the embodiment represented in FIG. 5, the basemember 110 has a threaded neck 122 extending from its bottom surface(not explicitly represented in FIG. 5). The reservoir 112 has a threadedbore 124 adapted to receive the threaded neck 122 of the base member110. When assembled, the threaded bore 124 and threaded neck 122 form afluid tight seal. The threaded bore 124 also serves as a means to filland empty the reservoir 112 with contact lens treatment solution orother fluid. It will be appreciated that the threaded bore 124 disclosedherein is merely one example of accomplishing the means to fill andempty the reservoir 112, other suitable arrangements known or readilyascertainable, to those skilled in the art, may be used and are withinthe scope of the present invention.

Directional arrows 128 show the respective engagement of the base member110 and reservoir 112. Also shown is a supply tube 126, extending belowthe threaded neck 122.

When the base member 110 and reservoir 112 are assembled by rotatablyengaging the threaded neck 122 within the threaded bore 124, the supplytube 126 should extend into the reservoir 112 as shown in FIG. 6. Thefree end of the supply tube 126 should be of sufficient length to reachthe bottom of the reservoir 112 or close thereto. It will be appreciatedthat the supply tube 126 thereby serves as a means for carrying thecontact lens solution from the reservoir 112 to the lens receptacles 116by way of the solution ports 108.

The lens receptacles 116 can be filled with contact lens solution bycompressing the reservoir 112 by, for example, simultaneously squeezingthe front and back of the reservoir 112. This compression action reducesthe internal volume of the reservoir 112 and thereby increases thepressure in the interior of the reservoir 112. The increase in pressureforces the treatment solution stored in the reservoir 112 into thesupply tube 126. The solution then exits the supply tube 126 through thesolution ports 108 and into the lens receptacles 116. Further, since thesolution ports 108 are disposed in the receptacles 116, the receptacles116 can be filled or emptied either while the lid 104 is either open orclosed. The above described structure and structure illustrate one typeof injection means. It is within the scope of the present invention thatany system using positive and negative pressure to fill and empty thereceptacles 116 is within the scope of this invention, whether presentlyknown or unknown.

It will be appreciated that the base member 110 and reservoir 112 may becoupled by a variety of different methods known to one skilled in theart other than the threaded bore 124 and threaded neck 122 asillustrated in FIG. 5, such as, a snap-on method. The base member 110and reservoir 112 may also be hermetically sealed together, with thereservoir 112 being filled through a separate orifice having its owncap. It will be further appreciated that any liquid with beneficialproperties may be used for the treatment solution. Typically, however,it is anticipated that the treatment solution will be a commerciallyavailable contact lens solution.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment. The reservoir 112A is essentiallyidentical to reservoir 112 as described previously, but reservoir 112Ahas been modified to accept and hold a bottle 132 of eye-drops. Themodification includes forming a contoured recess 134 on the bottom 130of the reservoir 112 adapted to completely contain the bottle 132. Whenplaced in the bottom 130 of the reservoir 112, the bottle 132 should notimpede the contact lens container 100 from standing upright on a flatsurface. The bottle 132 is illustratively held in place by a tight fitin the contoured recess 134 on the bottom 130 of the reservoir 112.

FIG. 8 illustrates a third embodiment. A base member 110A is similar tothe base member 110 except that it comprises a sealing wall 150extending from the top surface 188. The sealing wall 150 fitting into achannel 151 on a lid 104A when the lid 104A is in the closed position tothereby form a fluid tight seal to prevent any treatment solution fromleaking. Additionally, the base member 110A further comprises two lidlatches 154 to receive two lid locks 152 extending from the lid 104A.The two lid latches 154 ensure a more secure lock between the lid 104Aand the base member 110A. The lid 104A may optional comprise areflective surface 106. Further the base member 110A is attached to thereservoir 112.

It will be appreciated that the present embodiments provide a portablecompact contact lens case with an integrated fluid reservoir with aninternal injection system.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are onlyillustrative of the application of the principles of the presentinvention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may bedevised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention and the appended claims are intendedto cover such modifications and arrangements. Thus, while the presentinvention has been shown in the drawings and described above withparticularity and detail, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to,variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner ofoperation, assembly and use may be made without departing from theprinciples and concepts set forth herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A compact container for holding contact lensesand a supply of treatment solution, the compact container having anoblong cross section, a lid, a reflective surface, and a length, awidth, and a height, the compact container comprising: a fluid storagereservoir, the reservoir being constructed from a flexible resilientmaterial; a base member connected to the reservoir, said base memberhaving a top surface and a bottom surface, the top surface of the basemember having one or more receptacles integrated therein, eachreceptacle capable of holding a contact lens and a quantity of treatmentsolution, each receptacle having a cap attachable to said base portionand forming an air-tight seal over each of said one or more receptacles;at least one solution port for injecting treatment solution from saidreservoir into said receptacles; a lid attached to the contactcontainer, the lid capable of assuming an open position and a closedposition; a fluid injection system comprising a tube extending into theinterior of the reservoir, thereby providing direct one-way fluidcommunication between the interior of the reservoir and the at least onesolution port; and the length of the compact container being no greaterthan about five inches, the width being no greater than about threeinches, and the height being no greater than about five inches.
 2. Thecompact container of claim 1 wherein the overall shape of the compactcontainer is that of a whiskey flask.
 3. The compact container of claim1 wherein the base member is attachable to the bottom of the reservoirand the reflective surface is disposed on the underside of thereservoir.
 4. The compact container of claim 1 wherein the length isabout four and one-half inches, the width is about one and one-halfinches, and the height is about four and one-half inches.
 5. The compactcontainer of claim 1 wherein the lens receptacles are approximatelyone-half inch deep.
 6. The compact container of claim 1, wherein thereceptacles comprise a textured surface.
 7. The compact container ofclaim 1 wherein the lid comprises an outer surface and an inner surface,and wherein the lid further comprises a reflective material beingdisposed on the inner surface.
 8. The compact container of claim 1wherein the tube has a diameter of approximately 1/16 of an inch.
 9. Thecompact container of claim 1, wherein the lid is connected to the basemember by a hinge, said lid further comprising a latch, said latchreleasably interlocking with a second latch on the base member therebymaintaining the lid in the closed position.
 10. The compact container ofclaim 1 wherein the compact container further includes a contouredrecess to removably receive a bottle of eye-drops.
 11. The compactcontainer of claim 1 wherein the base member is connected to the topportion of said reservoir, and the top surface of the reservoir furtherincludes a bore extending into the interior of the reservoir, said borehaving a set of female threads, the base member also having a neckextending from the bottom surface of the base member, the neck having aset of male threads, whereby the base member is removably connected tothe reservoir by the male threads on the neck rotatably engaging thefemale threads on the bore.
 12. A portable compact container for holdingcontact lenses and a supply of treatment solution, the portable compactcontainer comprising: fluid storage means for storing the supply of thetreatment solution, the fluid storage means capable of being compressedupon the application of a force exerted by a person, the fluid storagemeans returning to its original shape upon the removal of said force;receiving means for storing contact lenses connected to the fluidstorage means, said receiving means also capable of holding treatmentsolution, the receiving means further comprising a lid means; reflectingmeans for allowing the user to see himself or herself as they attempt toapply the contact lenses to their eyes; and injecting means for fillingthe receiving means with the treatment solution residing in the fluidstorage means.
 13. The portable compact container of claim 12 whereinthe fluid storage means is comprised of a flexible resilient material.14. The portable compact container of claim 12 wherein the compactcontainer is generally whiskey flask shaped.
 15. The portable compactcontainer of claim 12 wherein the cross section of the portable compactcontainer is substantially oblong in shape.
 16. The portable compactcontainer of claim 12 wherein the portable compact container has alength, a width, and a height, the length of the compact container beingno greater than five inches, the width no greater than three inches, andthe height no greater than five inches.
 17. The portable compactcontainer of claim 12 wherein the injecting system includes a supplytube extending from the receiving means into the fluid storage means,the injecting system also comprising at least one port directed into thereceiving means.
 18. The portable compact container of claim 12 furthercomprising a connecting means for connecting the receiving means and thefluid storage means.
 19. The portable compact container of claim 18,wherein the connecting means is comprised of a threaded neck extendingfrom the receiving means and a threaded bore extending into the fluidstorage means, the threaded neck rotatably engaging the threaded bore.20. The portable compact container of claim 12 wherein the compressionof the fluid storage means creates a positive pressure whereby thetreatment solution is conducted from the fluid storage means and intothe receiving means, by way of the injecting means.
 21. The portablecompact container of claim 12, further comprising a second receivingmeans for mounting a bottle of eye-drops.
 22. A compact container forholding contact lenses and a supply of treatment solution, the compactcontainer having an oblong cross section and a length, a width, and aheight, the compact container comprising: a fluid storage reservoir, thereservoir comprising a flexible resilient material, the reservoirfurther comprising a threaded bore; a base member connected to thereservoir, the base member comprising a threaded neck, said threadedneck rotatably engaged with the threaded bore, said base member furthercomprising a top surface and a bottom surface; two lens receptaclesformed in the top surface of the base member, each receptacle capable ofholding a contact lens and a quantity of treatment solution, eachreceptacle also having a solution port whereby the treatment solution isinjected into the receptacle; a lid attached to the base member by ahinge, the lid comprising an inner and an outer surface, the innersurface comprising a reflective material, and the lid capable ofassuming an open position and a closed position; a fluid injectionsystem comprising a tube extending into the interior of the reservoir,thereby providing direct fluid communication between the solution portsand the interior of the reservoir, the fluid injection system expellingtreatment solution into the receptacles when the reservoir is squeezedby a person; and the length of the compact container being no greaterthan about five inches, the width being no greater than about threeinches, and the height being no greater than about five inches.